Montana Field Guide

Plants: Acrocarpous (Vitt 1988). Growing in crowded clumps of upright shoots (Crum & Anderson et al. 1981), green with yellow tones to brownish. Stems 5-15 mm tall; rhizoids few at the base and mostly lacking above, reddish; hyalodermis present; central strand not present (FNA 2007).

Leaves: Slightly curved and crisped when dry, spreading ca 45 degrees or more when wet, generally lance-shaped with sides nearly parallel for much of their length from the base, deeply cupped, not wavy, 1-2 mm in length; margins flat to upright, widely curved inward above; apex hood-like with both sides curved inward, occasionally acuminate (FNA 2007), acute or somewhat obtuse (Lawton 1971); costa extending shortly beyond apex (by up to 3 cells), glossy (FNA 2007).

Leaf Cells: Costa cells smooth and 8:1 on ventral surface, the dorsal surface sometimes rough, and more so above, dorsal and ventral stereid bands present with 1 row of median guide cells; lower laminal cells hyaline, light yellow, long, thin-walled and easily broken, the transition to the green, upper laminal cells sudden, the line of demarcation somewhat U-shaped; upper laminal cells square and covered with sharp, C-shaped papillae on both sides; marginal cells scalloped with sharp papillae, not bordered (FNA 2007).

Tortella inclinata var. inclinata: Present in Montana.
Stems yellow-green to yellow, short (to 10 mm), simple or with few branches, the rhizoids typically noticeable; cross-walls of cells in X-section same width as outer ventral and dorsal walls; papillae not raised; leaf point of 1-3 cells (FNA 2007).

Tortella inclinata var. densa:
Stems frequently green with strong orange tones, just orange, or greyish-green above and nearly black below, tall (to 20 mm), with numerous branches, the rhizoids obscure in the leaf axils; leaves dense and more often acuminate than hood-like; cross-walls of cells thinner in X-section than those of the outer ventral and dorsal walls; papillae seeming to be raised on a pedestal; leaf point of 5-7 cells (FNA 2007).

Variety inclinata: Capsules ripen in last part of spring (FNA 2007).

Variety inclinata: Calcareous silt and larger sediments, often loosely gathered materials, such as small rocks along rivers, gravel near bogs, exposed sandy areas in coniferous or deciduous tree groves, frequently near fresh water (FNA 2007).

Variety densa: Loose rocks and sandy soils on hills, fissures in bluffs, damp sandstone shelves, lake and stream alluvium (FNA 2007).

Variety inclinata often serves as a pioneer species, colonizing less stable habitats, whereas variety densa appears connected with more established areas (FNA 2007).

Dioicous. Perigonia unseen. Perichaetial leaves long, 2-5.5 mm, upright from a wide, occasionally swollen base which envelops the stem, remaining erect when dry (unlike vegetative leaves), becoming distinctively differentiated when archegonia are fertilized (in variety inclinata). Seta yellow, becoming red below with age, 1.5-2.7 cm tall. Capsule 1.5-2 mm in length (FNA 2007); urn typically longer than the operculum (Lawton 1971); peristome teeth single, 32 in number, reddish-orange, filiform, twisted more than 1 revolution, to 0.7 mm (FNA 2007).

No specialized vegetative reproduction (FNA 2007).